JD PicKell evaluates how the loss of Stetson Bennett could impact Georgia's quest for three-peat
For the second consecutive offseason, Georgia is gearing up to defend a national championship. This one’s a little different than the last, though.
Stetson Bennett is out of eligibility and will try to take his talents to the NFL Draft, meaning there will be a changing of the guard at quarterback in Athens. Bennett was the starter for both national title runs, and that opens the door for someone else will have to pick up where he left off to keep the Bulldogs atop the mountain.
Considering how different Bennett’s impact was in 2022, On3’s J.D. PicKell said this offseason presents an opportunity for Kirby Smart.
“While Stetson Bennett wasn’t the catalyst to your 2021 national championship, he definitely was for the 2022 national championship,” PicKell said on The Hard Count. “Kirby Smart has yet to win a national title without Stetson Bennett. Far be it for me to say it can’t be done. I am not saying that by any stretch of the imagination. But by definition, Kirby Smart has yet to have the opportunity to do it — or, more or less, have the opportunities to do it going forward — without Stetson Bennett. … That’s the bad news. You lose your QB.”
JD PicKell: Georgia ‘will upgrade from a talent perspective’ at quarterback in 2023
Georgia’s quarterback room appears to be in good hands even with Bennett out of the picture. Three former highly rated recruits are now preparing to take the reins.
The group is led by Brock Vandagriff, a former five-star recruit who was the nation’s No. 22 overall player from the 2021 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Carson Beck and Gunner Stockton are also waiting in the wings as former four-star recruits from the 2020 and 2022 cycles, respectively.
Despite developing into a Heisman Trophy finalist, Bennett started his career as a former walk-on. That’s why PicKell argued the talent level appears to be increasing for Georgia.
“You’ve got Brock Vandagriff, Gunner Stockton, Carson Beck — all highly touted quarterback recruits,” PicKell said. “While Stetson Bennett, I believe, has a very strong case to be considered the GOAT, the greatest of all time, in Athens, Ga. … you will upgrade from a talent perspective at the quarterback perspective. Now, Stetson Bennett, credit to what he did to develop at Georgia and the way that he took strides in that system and became a Heisman Finalist, honestly, at the end of his time there at Georgia.
“But purely based off of what God gave you, Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff, Gunner Stockton — projecting, at least — have more of that in house. That’s encouraging. It’s going to be a tall task. It’s going to be difficult to ‘replace’ Stetson Bennett. But from a tools perspective, [the] cupboard is stocked.”